Listen: Dylan Shearer's "Mold in the Fold"

By Emma Silvers

Created 04/10/2014 - 11:18am

Dylan Shearer

San Francisco songwriter Dylan Shearer[1] has been kicking around the Bay Area since 2005, but something in his voice sounds like he just arrived here in a time machine from London in 1965. Like a less-buoyant Ray Davies (or a less-suicidal Nick Drake?) there's an impressive authentic, cozily British gloom to the California-born singer's work.

His new LP garragearray, out April 15 through a collaboration between Castle Face and Empty Cellar Records, expands on the immersive, melodic, rainy-day moods of his last couple efforts, 2012's Porchpuddles and 2009's critic favorite Planted/Plans.

New for this record are some rather heavy-hitting collaborators: On bass you have Petey Dammit from Thee Oh Sees[2] (who, if you have no Facebook friends freaking out and posting about it every 10 minutes, seem to have officially ended their much-bemoaned hiatus with the announcement of a few shows in London and LA), and Comets on Fire[3]'s Noel von Harmonson on drums, with production by Eric Bauer (Mikal Cronin[4], Ty Segall, Sic Alps, a shit ton of others).

Here's our favorite of the two advance tracks he's put out — beautiful, sunshiney day outside be damned.